Welcome Scene Walkers.
Tonight i will take you through deserted streets of Katajanokka in Helsinki.
The weather is terrible, but spectacular.
For the past few weeks, temperatures have been warm, enough to melt most if not all of the snow in the Helsinki region.
But in Finland there is an expression: ‘takatalvi’, which roughly means winter returns.
This phenomenon is incredibly common in the Nordics, even into the month of May.
Walking in snow storms at night has a certain charm, don’t you think?
It is only -2°c but the wind is picking up and feels cold on my face.
The microphone is protected against snow, occasionally you will hear the protection due to the strong wind.

The history of Katajanokka is first mentioned in the 17th century under the Swedish name ‘Estnäs Skatan’.
It is not known how this name came about.
On the map of 1775 the name appears in the form ‘Skat Udden’ which is the Swedish translation and was translated to Finnish ‘Katajanokka’.
It was originally a peninsula, but today it is separated from the mainland by the ‘Katajanokka Channel’.
In the early 1800s, Katajanokka was still on the outskirts of Helsinki: single-storey cottages were inhabited mainly by sailors and their widows.
Construction started after the middle of the 19th century.
The completion of the Uspenski Cathedral (est.1868) coincides with this.
Another town plan was confirmed in 1895. The southern coastal region was reserved as a harbor and the northern region as a residential area.
In the center of the island stands the former Helsinki Country Prison (est.1837). In 2002 the prison ceased operations and the building was renovated for hotel use.
The harbor served as a cargo hold until the 1970s and was demolished in 1985, after which the port of Katajanokka developed into a passenger and cruise port.
A new town plan confirmed in 1977 included 21 new apartment buildings, the last vacant plots were built in 2006-2009.
A total of 6 ice breakers can be seen in Katajanokka, in summer it is possible to rent them for private events.
Katajanokka currently has a total of ~5000 inhabitants.
I was able to film a rainy walk in Katajanokka last year, i’ll link it in the description below and in the top right corner of your screen.
RAIN WALK

Thanks for walking with me, i hope it was interesting reading about the history.
Together we learn, explore and walk through the scenes.